Portable, abrasive tool blade sharpener



Jan. 18, 1966 c. R. RUSSELL 3,229,426

PORTABLE, ABRASIVE TOOL BLADE SHARPENER Filed Dec. 4, 1964 [719915 555 PHYMOND RUSSELL IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent 3,229,426 PORTABLE, ABRASIVE TOOL BLADE SHARPENER Charles Raymond Russell, 213 W. Garrison Ave,

Electra, Tex. Filed Dec. 4, 1964, Ser. No. 416,974 2 Claims. (Cl. 51214) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial Number 132, 621 for Portable, Abrasive Tool Blade Sharpener, filed August 21, 1961, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a device for sharpening tools and more particularly to a device for putting an edge on a tool of a predetermined bevel, and more especially to an abrasive tool sharpening device for sharpening shears, such as hedge shears, pruning shears, and the like.

Various sharpening devices have been proposed heretofore, but these, for the most part, required adjustment to a particular angle to perform a sharpening action on the tool, and since second and subsequent sharpenings of the tool might require setting the sharpening element each time, the original bevel edge of the tool would probably be lost, and the edge be sharpened at such an angle that the tool would not cut with maximum efficiency.

The present sharpening tool is so designed that a given angle can be maintained on the blade over an indefinite number of sharpenings, and yet various angles may be sharpened with the same tool, by the interchanging of guide blocks, which may have indicia thereon so as to indicate the correct block to use to produce the angle required for a particular tool.

An object of this invention is to provide a tool for sharpening a blade and for shaping a cutting edge at a predetermined bevel.

Another object of the invention is to provide an abrading tool sharpening apparatus for shears and the like, wherein the abrading element may be rotated to present a new abrading face when one face becomes worn.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a portable abrading element which may be readily carried from place to place, for sharpening a predetermined bevel on tools.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an abrading tool, which can be so set as to sharpen tools of a predetermined bevel, and which device may be reset to the exact same bevel for subsequent sharpenings of the tool.

A final object of the invention is to provide an abrasive sharpening tool which is simple in construction, easy to manufacture and assemble, and which is low in cost.

With these objects in mind and others which will become manifest as the description proceeds, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts in the several views thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tool abrading device shown in full outline, and showing a pair of shears in dashed outline within a vise, with parts of the shears and of the vise being broken away to show the details of construction;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view taken at right angles to FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view taken at a right angle to FIG. 3, and showing a spacer block mounted therein of a different angle than that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, so as to give a different angle of sharpening, with the blade positioned for sharpening being shown in dashed outline.

3,229,426 Patented Jan. 18, 1966 'ice With more detailed reference to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates an angle frame having legs 6 and 8, preferably are formed of a fiat bar which is bent to form an angle less than a right angle. The leg 6 has an aperture 10 formed therein intermediate the length thereof to receive a bolt 12 therethrough. An abrading stone, such as an emery stone 14, has an axial hole formed therein to receive the bolt 12 therethrough and through the aperture 19 in the leg 6. The bolt 12 is screwthreaded and has a wing nut 16 screwthreaded thereon to hold the. emery stone 14 in binding engagement with the inner face of leg 6.

The leg 8 has slots 18 formed therein. A block 22 fits on the inner face of leg 8 and has holes 20 formed therein, which holes are complementary to slots 18 in leg 8, as will best be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. A guide plate 24 is apertured as indicated at 26 to receive the respective countersunk heads 28 of bolts 30, so that the face of guide plate 24 will present a substantially plane surface. The angle between the face of guide plate 24 and the face 15 of emery stone 14 is such as to give the correct angle at which a specified tool is to be sharpened.

In the form of the invention as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the block 22 is shown to have parallel sides, which block is indicated with an indicia, such as the numeral 1 Within a circle, as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, with the angle formed by the inner face of leg 8 and the face 15 of the emery stone 14 being the same angle as the edge of the tool as it was originally sharpened at the factory, the tool, such as shear blade 32, may be placed in a vise 34 so as to hold the blade 32 rigid in the vise. The face of guide plate 24 is fitted against the inner surface of blade 32 and the flat face of the emery stone 14 is positioned on the angle face of the cutting edge and the abrading tool is moved back and forth along the face thereof while pressure is held thereon so that the face 15 of the emery stone 14 will cut or sharpen the blade 32 with the same angle as defined between the face of guide bar 24 and the face 15 of the emery stone 14. By drawing the emery stone 14 longitudinally along each face of the shear or other tool being sharpened, the original bevel will be restored and the edge of the blade sharpened to present the proper cutting edge.

While a vise 34 has been shown for convenience in hold ing the shear, it is to be understood that the tool may be used without a vise, if so desired.

Different angles may be made between the guide plate 24 and the face 15 of the emery stone 14 by inserting blocks, such as a Wedge-shaped block 22a, between the inner face of leg 8 and the guide bar 24. By securing the block 22a to leg 8 by bolts '30 with wing nuts 31, the wing nuts 31 may be tightened to hold the guide plate 24 in the correct angle relation for the particular tool being sharpened, with respect to face 15 of emery stone 14. The spacer block 22a has been indicated with an indicia, the numeral 2 within a circle, so as to enable the individual sharpening the tools to regularly refer to a chart to know the particular spacer block to mount on the leg 8 of the angle frame 5, to give the desired angle to the blade of the tool being sharpened.

By having the slots 18, which are formed in leg 8, elongated, the slots will readily compensate for the difference in angularity of blocks 22 and 22a, thereby obviating the necessity of providing different abrading tools to sharpen each tool.

While the tool is to be sharpened has been referred to specifically as shears, it is to be understood that the de vice is adapted for use on any blade, such as lawn mower blades, drawing knives, and other edge tools which require an angle to be maintained within critical limits for the best cutting performance.

Having thus clearly shown and described the invention,

what is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for sharpening tool blades, which device comprises:

(a) -a rigid frame formed from an elongated bar, which is rectangular in cross-section, and which bar is bent to form a pair of legs, the adjacent surfaces of which legs form plane faces, which plane faces form a fixed angle of less than ninety degrees.

(1) one of said legs having an aperture formed therethrough intermediate the length thereof,

(b) a cylindrical, centrally apertured emery stone having opposed, parallel, planar faces,

(1) one of which planar faces of said emery stone is fitted in abutting relation with an adjacent plane face of said apertured leg, so the aperture in said emery stone and the aperture in said leg are in register,

- (c) a screw-threaded bolt fitted within said apertures in said leg and in said emery stone to bindingly engage one of said planar faces of said emery stone with the adjacent plane face of said leg,

(d) the other of said legs of said frame being apertured within the length thereof,

(e) an apertured block having planar sides, one of which sides is fitted on the plane face of said last mentioned apertured leg,

(1) the other planar side of said block extending outwardly in unbroken relation, to the end of said plane side.

(f) -a screw bolt fitted within said aperture in said block and in said last mentioned leg to maintain said 'block in fixed relation with respect thereto,

(1) an upper side of said block forming a fixed, acute angle with respect to an adjacent planar face of said emery stone.

2. A device for sharpening a tool blade, which device comprises:

(a) a rigid frame formed from an elongated bar,

which bar is rectangular in cross-section, and which bar is bent to form a pair of legs, the adjacent surfaces of which legs form plane faces, which pl-ane faces form a fixed angle of less than ninety degrees,

(1) one of said legs having an aperture formed therethrough intermediate the length thereof.

(b) a cylindrical, centrally apertured emery stone having opposed, parallel, planar faces,

(1) one of the planar faces of said emery stone being in abutting relation with an adjacent plane face of said apertured leg, so the aperture in said emery stone and the aperture in said leg will be in register,

(c) a screw threaded bolt fitted within said aperture in said leg and said aperture in said emery stone to bindingly engage one of said planar faces of said emery stone with an adjacent plane face of said leg,

((1) the other of said legs of said rigid frame being apertured Within the length thereof,

(e) an apertured block having non-parallel, plannar sides, one of which sides is fitted on the plane face of said last mentioned, apertured leg,

(f) an apertured bar, which is rectangular in crosssection, fitted on one of said non-parallel, planar sides of said apertured block so the apertures in said bar will register with the apertures in said apertured block,

(1) said apertures in said last mentioned bar being tapered inwardly and downwardly,

(g) screw threaded bolts having the heads thereof sloping inwardly and downwardly to complementally seat in the inwardly and downwardly sloping apertures in said bar and to complementa-lly seat within the apertures in said block and the apertures in said last mentioned leg, to bindingly engage said last mentioned bar and said block to said leg so that the upper surface of said bar will present a plane, uninterrupted surface substantially throughout the length of said bar and with a divergence between the adjacent plane face of said bar and the plane face of said emery stone forming an acute angle, and

w (h) said block and said last mentioned bar having the ends thereof a spaced distance from the adjacent plane face of said emery stone.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 673,933 5/1901 Wallace 51-214 73 6,245 8/ 1903 Goodfellow 512 14 1,207,282 12/ 1916 Emminger. 1,271,953 7/1918 Sebring 76-88 1,451,396 4/1923 Jones. 1,941,367 42/1933 Silver et al 51-214 X 2,009,420 7/ 1935 Till 51-214 X 2,457,714 12/ 1948 Pancoast 51214 2,469,258 5/ 1949 Brockley 51-214 X LESTER M. SWINGLE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR SHARPENING TOOL BLADES, WHICH DEVICE COMPRISES: (A) A RIGID FRAME FORMED FROM AN ELONGATED BAR, WHICH IS RECTANGULAR IN CROSS-SECTION, AND WHICH BAR IS BENT TO FORM A PAIR OF LEGS, THE ADJACENT SURFACES OF WHICH LEGS FORM PLANE FACES, WHICH PLANE FACES FORM A FIXED ANGLE OF LESS THAN NINETY DEGREES. (1) ONE OF SAID LEGS HAVING AN APERTURE FORMED THERETHROUGH INTERMEDIATE THE LENGTH THEREOF, (B) A CYLINDRICAL, CENTRALLY APERTURED EMERY STONE HAVING OPPOSED, PARALLEL, PLANAR FACES, (1) ONE OF WHICH PLANAR FACES OF SAID EMERY STONE IS FITTED IN ABUTTING RELATION WITH AN ADJACENT PLANE FACE OF SAID APERTURED LEG, SO THE APERTURE IN SAID EMERY STONE AND THE APERTURE IN SAID LEG ARE IN REGISTER, (C) A SCREW-THREADED BOLT FITTED WITHIN SAID APERTURES IN SAID LEG AND IN SAID EMERY STONE TO BINDINGLY ENGAGE ONE OF SAID PLANAR FACES OF SIAD EMERY STONE WITH THE ADJACENT PLANE FACE OF SAID LEG, (D) THE OTHER OF SAID LEGS OF SAID FRAME BEING APERTURED WITHIN THE LENGTH THEREOF, (E) AN APERTURED BLOCK HAVING PLANAR SIDES, ONE OF WHICH SIDES IS FITTED ON THE PLANE FACE OF SAID LAST MENTIONED APERTURED LEG, (1) THE OTHER PLANAR SIDE OF SAID BLOCK EXTENDING OUTWARDLY IN UNBROKEN RELATION, TO THE END OF SAID PLANE SIDE. (F) A SCREW BOLD FITTED WITHIN SAID APERTURE IN SAID BLOCK AND IN SAID LAST MENTIONED LEG TO MAINTAIN SAID BLOCK IN FIXED RELATION WITH RESPECT THERETO, (1) AN UPPER SIDE OF SAID BLOCK FORMING A FIXED, ACUTE ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO AN ADJACENT PLANAR FACE OF SAID EMERY STONE. 